LaKisha Jones - Stayin' Alive Longer Than Expected

It's a little funny that towards the beginning of the American Idol competition, many were saying that LaKisha Jones had the best voice, and now that she's been voted out, people are again saying she had the best voice. So what happened? Why is it exactly that she fell out of favor, allowing her to go home before the official Home Visits week?

The first time we saw LaKisha was during the "Best of the Rest" episode before Hollywood started. She was the absolute last audition shown of this season, and it was pretty clear they were saving the best for last. She stepped out in front of the judges and belted out with her powerful voice and huge amount of 'tude, Think. She was the excitement we were looking for this season, and after the judges unanimously put her through to Hollywood, we saw a little of just why this is so important to her. LaKisha is the single mom to 3 year old Brianne. She auditioned for the show looking to make a better life for her and her daughter.

We didn't see any more glimpses of her at all until the announcement of the final 24 and didn't even know if she'd made it that far. We were so happy to see that she made it through, but somehow felt like we missed something really important, not seeing anything from her time in Hollywood to determine why it was she made it this far, but we were glad she did. The little that we had seen we knew she was extremely talented, and in the moment just before she was told she made it to top 24, we heard her say if she didn't make it, she'd just go back to the bank and her daughter.

Final 24 started and we got our first glimpse into these stars as performers. LaKisha literally brought down the house. She gave a finalist performance in the first week of semi-finals. She was simply amazing. She took a big risk and performed a song from DreamGirls, And I'm Telling You I'm Not Going. To practically compare yourself to ex-Idol finalist Jennifer Hudson, a future Oscar winner was a huge risk, but LaKisha pulled it off. And it wasn't just her amazing voice. It was also that 'tude. She was so confident and strong. We believed her. We knew she wasn't leaving. She'd have to be taken kicking and screaming. She wanted this.

The next two weeks were no less than great as she sang Midnight Train to Georgia and I Have Nothing. She was great on these, and the only problem was that she wasn't amazing like she had been on And I'm Telling You I'm Not Going. No one should be expected to be that amazing every week. Yet, because that was her first performance, it seemed everyone expected to see that every week. We saw a little bit to get to know her better as a person behind the music, and that was that her grandmother was the one encouraging her to sing, the same grandmother that has a crush on Ryan Seacrest, and she's terrified of animals. Nothing really in depth there. That's all surface stuff. Who was this girl who sang so amazingly other than a single mom, church goer and bank teller?

As final 12 started people knew that there was no way the three female power vocalists would last that far, and many believed it would be LaKisha to go first, before 17 year old Jordin Sparks or Melinda Doolittle. We found very little additional information on her, other than her nickname was KiKi, as she worked with Diana Ross. LaKisha sang God Bless the Child and was again no less than amazing. It was the following week when she fell a little short and picked up a label that was most likely undeserved. Working with 60s star Lulu, LaKisha said she was between two songs, Diamonds Are Forever and You're My World. Lulu suggested she sing the other, and when the performance wasn't as amazing as LaKisha's others, she was labeled difficult to work with for not listening to the guest mentor.

The damage had kind of already been done at this point. We didn't have much else to go on to judge these Idols other than their actual performance and their interactions with the guest mentors and judges. LaKisha added in a tag to the end of Stormy Weather than guest mentor Tony Bennett didn't like, and when she included it in the song, people again asked why she wasn't listening to the mentors' advice. It almost seemed like she was in a no-win situation, as after singing Diamonds Are Forever, she was labeled as a person that wouldn't leave her power ballad comfort zone. Yet, here she was singing Last Dance and Conga, and still being told she was playing it safe. And the judges took to referring to her power vocals as "screaming."

The next criticism placed on LaKisha was when she chose to sing Carrie Underwood's Jesus Take the Wheel during country week. She close it as she felt a deep connection to this song, yet people said she should have never taken on a Carrie Underwood song. She won so many kudos for her Jennifer Holliday/Jennifer Hudson Oscar winning And I'm Telling You I'm Not Going, but she shouldn't try a Carrie Underwood tune? The following week, inspirational songs week, she chose to sing I Believe by Fantasia Barrino and was told she shouldn't try something like that because Fantasia was such a legend. But Jennifer Holliday isn't? The others were singing songs by Eric Clapton and John Lennon, yet they weren't called out on it. Fantasia is a legend, but Clapton and Lennon aren't?

LaKisha took on Bon Jovi the following week and blew it out of the park with Ain't a Love Song, a performance Jon Bon Jovi himself bet would keep her in the competition, and one which earned her a loving kiss from Simon Cowell. She had admitted before she had no formal training other than in church, and here she was singing every day all day. The next week, the Idols had to take on two Bee Gees songs, and Barry Gibb advised her to go for the high notes. When she didn't do it on Stayin' Alive, everyone again branded her as someone that wouldn't listen to advice, but on her second song, Run to Me, it was clear why she wasn't going for her normal runs and high notes. Her voice was giving out on her. She was in turn voted out after Simon prognosticated just that, ironically singing Stayin' Alive.

You have to look at the aim of the American Idol season this year. For the first time, each week has had a guest mentor, other than Idol Gives Back week. While it was great seeing these stars, the editing of this ended up giving us a clouded view of the performers. All we saw of LaKisha Jones each week was her not listening to the guest mentors, none of which had the gospel background she did. Not having any other information on these Idols, it's all we had to go on to form an opinion, that and her performances that were never less than great, just not as amazing as her first one.

And certainly the judges did their part to provide LaKisha with confusing information making her feel like she couldn't win for losing. She received extreme praise for taking on a big song by well-known artists, but was then blasted for doing it in later rounds. She was told she should break her comfort zone away from her gospel/ballad roots, but when she veered away from that, she was told it was too safe. And when her voice gave out, no one acknowledged it, causing some people to just think she was ignoring more advice.

It's clearer than ever this year that there is some voter manipulation on the part of the judges, but in addition to that, we have people saying that the show just doesn't have it this year, and is lacking in the normal great talent. Yet, you look at LaKisha Jones, and that claim is hard to understand. Perhaps instead, because the show was more intent on having guest mentors wanting to promote their albums, we never got to find out more about what makes these Idols tick, and in the process, the more interesting personalities were voted out far too early.

You have to hand it to LaKisha, though, for hanging in there and lasting longer than many people expected her to. Yet she was unkindly labeled in the process as someone that was difficult to work with. I think instead, it's more like she's a strong woman who knows who she is and what she wants, and she was unwilling to compromise that for Lulu and Tony Bennett. Regardless, she's earned enough exposure to land herself a deal with someone outside of American idol. Maybe then we'll finally get some more information on just who this woman is behind the amazing voice.

You can contact me at LauraBelle@realityshack.com

For more information on American Idol, see Reality Shack or SirLinksalot: American Idol and for more on LaKisha Jones, see SirLinksalot: LaKisha Jones.